My spouse and I dined at Volcano Rabbit for dinner on a
Wednesday evening in early July. Volcano
Rabbit is open daily from 11:00 am until 12:00 midnight, with earlier opening hours
on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am, and extended closing hours on Friday and
Saturday nights until 2:00 am. You can make a reservation using the online Open
Table reservation system.
Volcano Rabbit opened
in early 2018 on Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp District (in the space formerly
occupied by Don Chido). The restaurant gets its name from the world’s
second-smallest rabbit (also called “teporingo” or “zacatuche”) that is found in the Mexican mountains. (We
aren’t sure how that animal relates to the restaurant, however.) The RMD Group (FLUXX) operates the restaurant, along
with neighbor Rustic Root, 207 (a nightclub), Ciro's (a pizzeria), Float (the
rooftop pool bar at the Hard Rock Hotel), and Side Bar (another nightclub). (Note that the
management of these restaurants automatically adds a 3% service charge to your
bill so that YOU can help to pay THEIR employees a livable wage; this charge is
in addition to any normal gratuity that you add.)
The cavernous Volcano
Rabbit space
is divided into two distinct areas. (It seems like this restaurant may have
once been two separate venues.) Two bars (mirror images of one another) join
the two spaces, although there is a divider/lighted back bar between them that
prevents people on one side from seeing those on the other. One half of the dining
space offers regular-height tables in the back that are set on a platform a
step up from main floor (along with two lounge chairs, a gas fireplace, and a
large TV), square and round high-top tables toward the front (some of which
share a high wooden banquette and others that are free-standing), as well as a
bar rail that runs along the front (glass) wall. The second side of the space
offers lounge seating (including stuffed sofas and coffee tables) at the rear,
with a few free-standing tables and other tables that share a padded banquette
along one wall, a small dancefloor in the middle (a DJ spins several nights a
week), and some lounge seating (stuffed leather club chairs grouped in twos)
near the front. Some exposed brick walls, lots of wood, and dim lighting complete
the décor, along with an interesting sort of street map of Mexico City. A
sidewalk patio offers al fresco dining and people-watching.
Volcano Rabbit
serves Mexican cuisine, some of which is modern (unique ingredients and combinations),
and some of which is traditional (such as the rice and bean sides that
accompany most taco dishes). Volcano Rabbit boasts the largest tequila
selection in San Diego, including more than 175 varieties. (They also offer
margaritas and other cocktails, wine, and beer.) We shared the shrimp taquitos (shrimp wrapped in corn
tortillas, with a chipotle lime crema, pineapple, and cilantro) as an
appetizer, followed by the sticky beef short rib tacos (garnished with pickled
onions and carrots, cucumber, radish, cabbage) and carne asada tacos (skirt
steak, aioli, onion, chimichurri) as entrees. For dessert, we followed our
server's suggestion and tried the churros - much lighter and fluffier than your
usual variety. (Truth be told, we have a modern Mexican restaurant in the city where
we live that serves a similar texture churro that we adore, but the ones at
Volcano Rabbit were a close second. In fact, although we prefer our local
churros, they are served with a dark Mexican chocolate sauce, whereas the churros
at Volcano are served with a dulce de leche caramel sauce, which was a better
complement.)
We enjoyed our dinner at Volcano Rabbit, the atmosphere is
laid-back, and we liked the casual fare.
